Hydraulic and hand steering-gear.



v No. 815,266. PATENTBD: MAR. 13', 1900.

J. 0. 0001 00, 0300). -H- D. COOPER, LDHIIISTRAT OR.

HYDRAULIC AND fHAND STEERING GEAR.

I APPLIOATION Hum 1100.4, 1902.

, UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES e. oooPEEoF NEW YORK, 55., ASSIGNOR, BY MEsNE ASSIGN- MEN TS, OF THREE-FIFTHS TO MARY BUDD, OF NEW. YORK, N. Y.'; HENRY D. COOPER ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID JAMES G. COOPER, DECEASED.

I 'HYDRAULIC AND HA ND STEERING-GEAR- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 13,1906.

Application filed December 4,1902. Serial No. 133,853.

Tau/ll whom it may concern: Be it known thatI, JAMES G. OooPEE, a"

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn borough, New York city, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inHydraulic and Hand Steering-Gear, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of steeringapparatus in which the steering is effected by the application of mechanical power, and is more. particularly intended for use on steam-yachts, torpedo-boats, tugs, and other vessels in which space has to be economized.

To that end I have devised a steering-gear especially adapted to be located in the wheelhouse and capable of being operated by, oil, water, or other liquid and also, when occasion requires, by han To this end my invention consists, prima-j rily, in a hydraulic cylinder adapted to belocated in the wheel-house of a vessel, the supply-valve of which cylinder is operated by'the' turning of the wheel, mechanism operated by suchcylinder whereby motion is communigcated to the rudder or other steering device in either direction for each movement of the valve, and mechanism whereby the valve is immediately and automatically returned to its initial position after each movement. One form of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the cylinder.

Same letters indicate similar parts. in the different figures.

A is the wheel, loosely mounted upon the shaft a by the sleeve 1). This shaft is journaled in suitable postsor standards 0 c and at its forward end carries a perforated lateB, while at the rear end it has a bevele gear C.

en a pin is inserted in the erforation d of theplate B, it engages with t e wheel A, and thereby keys it'to the shaft a, and therefore turning the wheel turnsthe shaft. Loosely mounted upon the shaft or is a sleeve 6, having a plate I) in juxtaposition to the wheel A and also having a cog wheel or pinion D. Said plate I) may have-a perforation corresponding to that shown at (1, adapted to receive a .pm to connect it with the wheel A, or other loosely mounted on the shaft e.

equivalent means for such purpose may be provided. When the pin is removedfrom perforation d and inserted in the perforation turns the sleeve 6, on the end of which is D meshes with the large gear E, which is Said shaft e is j ournaled in suitable boxes f f and carries a cog-wheel, the purpose whereof will be hereinafter explained. It also carries at its rear .55 in plate I), the turning of the wheel A only.

end a beveled gear Or. To the face of the gearE is bolted a sheave H, around which is coiled the rope h, which leads to the rudder or other steering device. The sheave H is made removable from the gear-wheel E, so that sheaves of different sizes may be substituted. This is to accommodate rudders of different swing. and enables me to apply my improved steering-gear to all sorts of vessels instead of requiring the steering-gear to be specially'built for the particular vessel, as would be the case if the sheave were unchangeable. The motion of the sheave in either direction must correspond to the halfswing of the rudder in that direction.

Whenthe rudder is to be moved by hand in the usual way without the aid of my hydraulic steering-gear, the only active part of the apparatus consists of the wheel A, sleeve 1), cog D, large gear E, and sheave H.

When the hydraulic motor is to be employed, it is brought into action as follows: he pin is removed from the perforation in plate I) and is inserted through the perforation d, and the shaft a is ready for action.

The gear E is now keyed to the shaft 0 in any suitable manner. Splined to the vertical shaft 21, journaled in brackets rojecting from the rear standard 0, is a beve ed gear I,

which engages the beveled gear O on the shaft a. The lower end of the shaft i is screwthreaded through the box K, which may be secured to one of the brackets before mentioned into the threaded sleeve is of the beveled gear L. The beveled gear L is loosely mounted on the end of the valve-stem Z of a valve (not shown) located inside the valveboX M, said valve-stem being a continuation of shaft i. The valve is of ordinary construction, being adapted toreceive oil or other liquid from a pressure-reservoir (not shown) other end forces the piston in one direction,

while the reverse action forces it in the other direction. The piston carries a rack 19, the teeth of which mesh with the gear F, before mentioned as mounted on the shaft 6. The turning of this gear F and shaft 0 rotates the large gear E and moves the rudder in one direction or the other, according to the slide of the piston O.

In. an apparatus of this character it is desirable that the rudder should not be allowed to turn too far when an impulse is received from the motor-cylinder. To guard against this, I have devised a means of utilizing the motion of the gear F to restore the operatingvalve to its initial position immediately upon the receipt of an impulse by the piston. In other words, when the valve in the valve-box M is reciprocated to admit oil or other fluid to the cylinder on either side of the piston instead of waiting for the man at the wheel to turn the valve off and stop the motion of the piston I cause the motion of the piston itself to throw the valve back and cut off the impulse. Length of the slide allowed to the piston before this cut-off takes place may be graduated by the number of teeth of the beveled gear G; but ordinarily it is best to have the slide of the piston correspond to such motion of the rudder as would turn the prow a point or a half-point only to ort or starboard. The man at the whee will know, therefore, that he must give as many impulses to the wheel A as he desires to turn the vessel points or half-points in a given direction.

It is obvious that by reason of the slip connection rendered possible by the screwthreads in the box K the turning of the splined shaft i by the shaft (1 does not rotate the beveled gear G, while the rotation of the beveled gear G simply lifts the splined shaft without rotating it.

I claim A hydraulic and hand steering-gear,which consists of a steering-wheel, a hydraulic cylinder adapted to be located in the wheel house of the vessel, a sliding piston in said cylinder, mechanism, whereby the supplyvalve of said cylinder may be operated by the turning of the wheel, a slip connection in said mechanism whereby the same can be turned without operating said valve, and mechanism operated by said piston whereby motion is communicated to the rudder and the valve simultaneously returned to its initial position after each movement.

JAMES G. COOPER.

Witnesses:

FRED H. PELL, W. P. PREBLE, Jr. 

